A Rebel Ghost
by ProjectSSSS123
Summary: *ONE-SHOT* Raditz discovers that Planet Vegeta has just perished under Frieza's claws, but among the rubble is a small token of heroism; A blood-red piece of cloth.


**This is an alternate timeline. Probably sound like a good introduction to a long story, but at the moment, I have no plans to write a story to it.**

**Song Request by SSSS: Countdown To Zero by Asia**

_A Rebel Ghost_

* * *

In a fury of red and orange dragon tongues lapping at the atmosphere, the shrill cries of a father splitting the sound barrier, calling out his neglected son's name, Planet Vegeta was lost in a shattering explosion of dust, rock, blood, bodies, and memories.

But most importantly of all, a shred of cloth, stained dark red, floating aimlessly in the vacuum-like depths of the midnight blue space.

And above the explosion, a monstrous tyrant laughing his royal butt off.

"Ahahaha! Did you see that!? Zarbon? Dodoria? All the monkeys are dead, even the rebel that stood up to me!" He put both palms out. "No more Super Saiyans! Hahaha!"

* * *

Prince Vegeta, in his younger days, has just emerged from the training center, stalking up to Nappa. A moment before, Nappa had just received a transmission from Dodoria that Planet Vegeta had just collided with an asteroid and that Prince Vegeta's father, King Vegeta, had perished under Frieza's deadly claws.

_I shouldn't mention the Frieza part to him..._ Nappa thought to himself. He handed the young Prince his royal armor and walked behind him, stepping onto the moving floor.

"Prince Vegeta..." Nappa began.

"What is it?" Vegeta snapped, crossing his arms.

"Well...I've got bad news. Reports say that Planet Vegeta has been destroyed in an asteroid along with all it's inhabitants. And...your father."

"WHAT!?" Vegeta shouted. His Saiyan fury hit it's peak, boiling his innards. He fired a _ki_ blast towards the nearest wall, creating a fairly sizable crater in it. He turned on Nappa.

"My father can't die! No one alive can kill him! And Frieza would never...!" He was seething. Once they got off the moving floor, Prince Vegeta stalked to the nearest stasis chamber. "Go away Nappa. I want to be alone. Now." He slammed the door behind himself, knocking one of the hinges off.

* * *

"Dad, come in! Dad?" Raditz constantly tapped his scouter. He was trying to connect to his father, but he kept hearing static. He tapped it once more. "Dad? DAD!?" He shouted pointlessly. Little did the boy know that his father had been unwillingly killed by a devil of a monster, having his last resort, his Spirit of the Saiyans, his Final Spirit Cannon, dissipating within the monster's sun-like attack.

Raditz hooked his scouter off his ear, placing it beside himself in his Saiyan Pod. "Maybe his scouter's being repaired..." He thought to himself. But then his scouter buzzed against his leg, signaling some sort of morse code-like click. The certain clicks meant an incoming transmission from someone in the Royal Saiyans. Raditz deeply wondered why the Royal Saiyans would have any shit against him.

Nevertheless, he picked it up and hooked it to his ear, attaching the strap to it's proper place. He halted the morse codes and picked up.

"Soldier Raditz." The voice began, "Please proceed to Frieza Planet 947. Elite Nappa wants a word with you." Then the transmission ended in static.

Raditz was baffled and confused. _Why am I not going to Planet Vegeta? Oh wait, that's right, Frieza Planet 947 is where Nappa's office is. That must be the reason._

But before he could direct the path and change courses, he stopped at Planet Vegeta.

Or what _should have_ been Planet Vegeta.

Instead, a bunch of rocks and blood were scattered about. Raditz opened up his pod with a hiss and looked out to the desolation, shaking his head in utter disbelief.

"W...what..." He was at a complete loss for words. He just stared at the desolation. The destruction. His mind filled with too many memories, causing him to clench his teeth in agony. His eyes began to water and he subconsciously rubbed his eyes to shoo the tears away, but they kept welling up inside of him like every single bad emotion was at the same time. He closed his eyes and rubbed them, as if he was in some sort of terrible nightmare, and he pinched himself to wake up, to be back on Planet Vegeta with everyone, but he slowly opened his eyes again and saw the destruction.

This was real. It was happening before his very meant that...

_Dad got caught in it...?_ Raditz thought to himself. _No, he MUST'VE escaped! He's too clever for that!_ He shook his head, looking left and right, up and down, for any signs of life, but not a single scrap of anything remained.

Except for a shimmering object floating aimlessly across the vacuum. It finally attacked to a rock, fluttering like a tiny flag. Raditz hopped out of his pod and flew towards this strange object. He grabbed it before it escaped and hovered slowly back to his pod, closing the door behind himself. He flicked on the lights and looked at the object.

It appeared to be a little piece of cloth. But it wasn't soft. Raditz felt the material and it felt partially wet and crusty in his hands. And when he looked at the palm of his hands, there was a tiny stain of the red liquid on it. He brought it up to his nose.

_Blood..._

Strangely, however, the material felt...comforting in his hands, as if his dad had touched it, or as if his spirit was embedded into the piece of cloth.

_That's impossible..._ Raditz told himself. "It's just a scrap of cloth from a warrior. Probably mixed with the blood of a dying Saiyan." He told himself that he was right and set the piece of cloth down next to him.

And then silence ensued. For a good two minutes, giving Raditz a chance to absorb that this _was_ no dream, that it was reality, happening before his eyes. He placed his head into his hands, taking a deep, rattling breath.

_So dad _is_ dead...and so is mom..._ He thought to himself. _And now I'm alone except for Nappa, Prince Vegeta, and me. But WHY!? Who would...who would do such a thing!?_

A lone, salty tear fell onto his leg, caressing down to his foot and then to the seat. He didn't want to believe it, but it was happening. It was for real. Dad was gone. Mom was gone. He was now part of the last Saiyans alive.

"I don't want to be!" He shouted to no one. "I want someone to just..." He broke down. _Comfort me..._ He desperately thought.

But then, he felt something on the left side of his head, stroking his hair. Almost like a soft touch. And then he felt the wave pat his head twice. It almost felt like a hand. He touched the top of his head, but felt nothing. Then he felt his shoulder, and felt warm air on top of the temperature in his Saiyan Pod. But then the temperature returned to normal. And he felt nothing.

_What was...that? _He asked himself in complete confusion. He looked over to the dark red piece of cloth, thinking that dad was-

"Nah..." Raditz told himself. "I'm sure it was just the wind or something." He assured himself. He set the coordinates for Frieza Planet 947 and headed there in a quick pace.

* * *

"Saiyan Pod C Class requesting to land on Planet 947."

"Request granted C Class. Proceed to Landing Pod C4H."

Raditz sat back in his seat. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get the wave and the red piece of cloth out of his head. Or the destruction of his home Planet.

_Maybe Nappa will know..._ He told himself. Once the Saiyan Pod landed with a thud, he opened his hissing door and stepped out. He looked back to the lone piece of cloth, staring at it for a second. He then slowly reached for it, grabbing it in his hands. Once again, it felt strangely comforting within his grasp. He then proceeded to walk through the hallways of the cold buildings, finally stopping at a corner, putting both arms behind himself.

And at last, Elite Nappa walked up to him, and in size difference, Nappa was a bit taller. He also seemed tougher too.

"Soldier Raditz..." Nappa began, "Welcome."

"Thanks..." He solemnly said.

"Come and walk beside me. I need to talk to you."He offered a spot to the right of him. Raditz looked a bit indifferent. "Should I walk next to an Elite?"  
"You shall." Nappa ordered, just a tad harshly. Raditz concurred and took his place by Nappa, keeping the same pace as him.

"Now," Nappa began, "Do not tell anyone what I am about to tell you. You see, Planet Vegeta was consumed in an asteroid. It was the destruction you saw earlier. Every single one of the Saiyans perished except for Prince Vegeta, me, and you."

"But...what about my father?" Raditz asked.

"And that would be?" Nappa asked.

"Um...third class soldier Bardock."

"...Well, considering the fact that all the Saiyans died, he's probably among them." Nappa confirmed. "Hey, what's that in your hand?" He pointed to the dark red cloth.

Raditz brought it up to his face. "I found it floating among the dust of Planet Vegeta. It smells of blood and sweat. I wonder who it belongs to..." Raditz asked himself. "I didn't know anyone with a red piece of bloody cloth."

"Well, if it's fresh cloth, it's probably fairly new." Nappa added, stopping. "I'm gonna go see the Prince." He turned his back to Raditz. "You're welcome to stay for as long as you want." And with that, Nappa stalked through the hallways, out of sight.

Raditz was rooted to the spot. He couldn't help but stare at the piece of cloth. He couldn't help but think it belonged to his father. But his father wouldn't wear anything blood soaked. Raditz was still partially in shock because of it.

_It would have been disintegrated._ He thought to himself. Flashbacks of Planet Vegeta hit his mind once again, and the destruction.

_Dad..._ Raditz thought, _What happened?_

Raditz walked slowly through the white hallways, looking for a vacant room to slip into. He found one that was fairly small, but it would do. He shut the door behind himself, making sure to lock it. Luckily there were no cameras in the room. He sat down on the rock hard bed, laying down, putting both his hands on his chest. He lay motionless for a few minutes, taking in everything, trying to calm himself down. He looked towards where he placed the little piece of cloth. It hung over the bed stand, left carelessly floating partially off the desk. It almost seemed alive, the way it moved, like a small, dark red snake.

Raditz directed his attention back to the roof. He wanted to get the red band out of his head, but he couldn't. It was stuck to his head like glue on paper. At last, he reached over and grabbed it. He put his right hand on top of it, and then suddenly, he was forced into a headache. He fell onto to the ground, dropping the band in shock. The headache suddenly went away. He looked back to the cloth, panting.

_Weird..._ He thought to himself. _Wait a second..._ He picked up the band again, putting his back to the bed. And once again, he was put into a short headache. He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he saw a different scene.

He was on some sort of rocky planet with tan rocks. Among those rocks were bodies of both aliens...and Saiyans. Raditz recognized one of the Saiyans as Fasha, but she was laying in a pool of her own blood, and she didn't appear to be breathing. Raditz ran over to her to help her up, but his hand merely went through her. He then looked over his shoulder to see a Saiyan pod arriving. A man then stepped out of the pod.

It was his dad.

Raditz tried to shout his father's name, but not a word came out, only silence. He saw his father look out to the destruction, but then he saw his comrades. And then he noticed his best friend. He ran over to him, grabbing him by the neck and back.

"_Frieza's scared of you...don't you see?"_ Raditz heard Tora's distant voice, like a loud whisper. _He scared of what you might become...you're getting too strong."_

"_Don't worry Tora!" _Raditz heard his father shout. _"I'll get you to a healing Planet. We're not far. You'll be alright, you'll be fine, and then we'll..." _He cut off his words as Tora's soul left him. He put a smile on his face, and then slumped in his best friend's arms. Bardock was speechless. He removed the blood stained cloth from his friend's arm, trying to wipe the blood off. He held it in his hand, standing up. To the right of him was the minions who had killed his comrades. They were smirking.

Bardock looked back to his best friend. He clenched the cloth in his hand tighter as the blood slowly but surely seeped into the cloth, turning it a dark red. Bardock clenched it even tighter as he brought it up to his forehead, tying it around his head like a headband. He looked back to the fighters, yelled a battle cry, and attempted to beat them.

And then Raditz was launched out of the flashback, snapping back to reality. He looked back at the almost innocent piece of cloth.

"So this is dad's..." He thought to himself. "But how can it give...flashbacks...?" He stared at the piece of cloth for a silent, long minute before bringing it up to his forehead and tapping it to his forehead.

"I don't know if you can hear me, dad, but if you can..." His eyes began to water again, "You were one hell of a dad." He clenched the cloth in his hand, letting a few tears roll down his face. He placed the headband on the bed, getting on his knees, he put his elbows up and covered both hands to his face, silently crying.

_Dad, why'd you have to go...?_ Raditz asked, _I wish I could just...see you again!_ He reached his hand out, palm up. _I wish I could just...touch your hand or something! I'm so confused!_

And then...he felt warm flesh press against his hand. He shook at the unexpected touch. He opened his eyes and looked down to the ground. He saw shoes, black with a green tip.

_Just a mirage! _Raditz told himself. He drew his hand away, placing his hands back to his face, closing his eyes. "I don't want to be tricked!"

He felt warm flesh press against his shoulder, but he shook it off of his shoulder. And then he felt warm flesh grab his arm. His palmed opened by itself and once again, warm flesh pressed against it. Still, Raditz refused to open his eyes. He felt the warmness disappear, and then return, placing something crusty in his hand. He looked down at his hand and noticed that the headband his father wore was sitting in it. And then next to it was the same one, but almost completely faded and see through. And then he saw a hand pick up the see through pseudo headband, carefully removing it. Raditz folded his hand and looked up slowly.

And then he saw him. His father. Right before his eyes. But he looked as if he were a ghost.

His father cocked his head, looking at his son. He then stood up.

_Da...dad?_ The thought crossed Raditz's mind like a slowly extinguishing candle. "Can...can you speak or anything?"

The brave father shook his head no. He patted his son on his shoulder twice, giving a look that pretty much said "I'm proud of you, Raditz." His father then beckoned to his son, telling him to grab onto his hand. Raditz was reluctant at first, but then grabbed his father's hand, only to be whisked away to yet another flashback.

But this time, he was on a different Planet. Around him were a bunch of rock houses.

However, it wasn't a peaceful place. The sky seemed to be darkened. Two fighters stood at opposite ends of each other. One of them appeared to be a orange and purple monster with horns. Another fighter appeared to be keeled over on the ground, struggling to get up. Thunder roared as it struck twice, next to this warrior left and right.

And before Raditz knew, this fighter erupted, quite literally. He shouted to the heavens above him, and around him, encircling him was a glorious golden aura. The warrior took one look at the monster in front of him and slowly strode towards him.

The ghost of Raditz's father looked back to his son, waving a hand in front of his face. Raditz looked at his father, who pointed to himself and then pointed to the golden warrior in front of him.

Raditz knew that it was his father, but he couldn't comprehend the golden aura. His father looked back at his son. He cocked his head again and he raised an eyebrow as if to say "Are you serious?"

Then it hit Raditz. He pointed to the fighter, who was now proceeding to beat up the monster, spinning him around. "That's you, right?"

Bardock shook his head yes.

"Are you..." He almost spoke with fear. He gulped. "A...you know...Super Saiyan?"

Again the scarred warrior shook his head yes. And then the warrior took ahold of his son's shoulder, transporting him back to the present. He let go of his shoulder. After a short smirk and a flash of wind, he was gone.

Raditz stood in the room, alone now. He looked back to the piece of cloth. He picked it up in his hand and placed it into his pocket carefully. He then unlocked the door, striding down the hallways. He finally made it outside to his pod and set the coordinates for Frieza Planet 186. It was seldom travelled to. His pod then ascended and took off towards the space.

* * *

Once his Saiyan Pod hit solid ground, Raditz stepped out onto the ground and traveled, by foot, towards a tall, shimmering rock. And below was a plaque, dedicated to the first Saiyan, Hirox.

Raditz kneeled on one leg, removing the headband from his pocket. Then, gently, he took a stick from the surrounding area and carved the stick to remove the bark from it. He stuck it into the ground and wrapped the headband around the stick. In the wind of the purple skied Planet, it waved like a proud little flag He lit _ki_ on his fingertip and engraved the word バーダック into the stick . He touched the headband once more before getting up and beginning to walk away, but not until he was grabbed by the collar by something. He turned around to give the person a whack across the head, but it was his father, who deflected the punch with ease.

Without a word, Bardock held up the headband that was tied around the stick, handing it to his son.

"I want to leave it here..." Raditz persisted, pushing his father's hand away. But once again, his father persisted to give him the headband. After a long moment of this, Bardock squinted his eyes. He tackled his son to the ground with surprising strength. They got caught up in a tangle of limbs, but when it was all set and done, Raditz sat up, and his father pointed to his forehead, with minor amusement. Raditz looked up to his forehead, only to feel his father's headband bore against his skin. He reached up to touch it.

"Really? Sh...should I?"Raditz questioned,adjusting the headband a bit.

His father shook his head yes. He gave his son once more last pat on the back and a smile, and when Raditz blinked, he was gone. Raditz looked up to the stars.

"I understand." He clenched his fist. "You've left your spirit with me to find Kakarot and defeat Frieza. Father, I WON'T let down!"

* * *

**バ= Ba, ダ=Da, ク=Ku. Think about it.**

**Agh, summer makes me so sleepy...it makes...me...so...so...sleep- zzzzzz**


End file.
